Cotton picker moistener



Dec. 4, 1962 c. G. BARFIELD COTTON PICKER MOISTENER Filed Dec. 7, 1959INVENTOR.

RHI

MQESTENER iis, Ark., assigner to ompuny, Qhicago, lill., a

This invention relates to a moistening mechanism for use in a cottonharvester and more specifically is directed to a lluid distributormechanism used in the moistening system.

A typical cotton picker of the general character to which the inventionis applicable is shown in U.S. patent to lohnson, 2,'l40,63l. Such acotton picker includes a mobile or ambulatory frame on which there ismounted the cotton picker or harvester unit. Each such unit comprises arotatable drum having a plurality of circumferentially spaced columnsfrom each of which projects a vertical series of picker spindles, thespindles being vertically stacked and arranged in horizontal layers, andeach spindle being rotatable about its individual axis and revolvedbodily about a horizontal orbit pursuant to rotation of the drum. Thespindles are usually barbed so as to improve their aggressiveness inpicking cotton from the plants. lt is a `general practice to meisten thespindles before they enter the cotton plants in order to increase thepicking efficiency o the spindles and to minimize the accumulation oraccretions of plant juices or other matter on the spindles and tofacilitate the doiiing or sweeping of the cotton from the spindles.

Various devices have been suggested to meter or control the amounts oflluid applied to the spindles. It will be readily realized that acertain amount of moisture on the spindles provides an optimumcondition, while too little may, in fact, contribute to accretions ofplant matter on the plants, etc. and too much iluid dampens the cottonso as to downgrade it and in addition exhausts the supply tanks toofrequently so that there is that necessity of continually adding water.

lt is a primary object ot' this invention to provide a rnoisteningmechanism for use with a cotton harvester which incorporates a meteringmechanism for providing an accurate and uniform amount o iluid to eachmoistening pad.

A more specic object of the invention is to provide a novel combinationcontrol valve and pump for each moistener which not only admits apredetermined quantity of water but which forcibly ejects the water intothe moistenng pad.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a novel simple andefficient metering system wherein the parts may be readily regulated andwhich will be exceptionally clog-tree and eilcient in use.

rhese and other objects and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent to those skilled in the art from the specification and thedrawings, wherein:

FIGURE l is a fragmentary perspective view of the moistening apparatusand portions of the associated cotton picking spindles;

FGURE 2 is a sectional view talren substantially on the line f-Z ofFGURE 1; and

FGURE is a fragmentary enlarged side elevational View of the moisteningmechanism with parts shown in vertical section.

The moister'" apparatus generally designated 2 is normally mout ed in acotton harvester housing in `a position shown in US. Patent 2,140,631.For purposes of the present disclosure, it is sulicient to recognizethat the moistener is proximate to the cotton picker spindle drumswhereby spindles 4 carried on upright columns iatented Elec. 4, 1952 ice4a may move adjacent and in contact with moistening pads 5 of themoistening apparatus generally designated 5a.

As best seen in FIGURE 1, there is -a moistening pad S for eachhorizontal row of spindles and each of these pads each are mounted on aholder 6 which is connected to a tube or pipe 7 which in turn is mountedon a hollow liuid containing conduit 8 which is vertically disposed andis mounted between the top and bottom walls 8a and 9 of the picker drumhousing as well understood by those skilled in the art. Each tube 7extends through horizontally aligned openings 11 and 12 in the tube 3and has a central bore 13 which communicates through an opening 'd4preferablyprovided on the top of the tube 7 with the internal bore 14aofthe tube 8. The upper end i5 of the moistener stand member 8 isprovided with an inlet le to which lluid is supplied to the column Sfrom a source of supply such as a tank (not shown) which is mounted onthe ambulatory unit.

A combination piston and valve stem member Ztl of cylindrical formextends through the rear extremity 2l of each tube 7 and has fluid-tightengagement with the surface of the bore 13 and the stem 2l) has an axialextent 'such that in its closed position it extends beyond the opening14 while the limiting collar 22 provided on the stem 20 intermediate itsends abuts as at 23 against the back end of tube 7 at side 24 of thecolumn 3.

The piston members 2li yare operated by an actuating mechanism or rockerassembly generally designated 25. The actuating mechanism 2S comprises aconnecting element or bar Z6 which extends generally parallel to thetube 8 along its back side 24, the bar being provided with a series ofopenings 27 admitting the rear ends 2S of the stems Ztl therethrough.The forward side 29 of the bar seats as at 30 against the back side ofthe collar 22 and the back side 31 of the bar is engaged by a suitablelocking device such as a pin or cotter key 32 which extends through anyappropriate opening or hole in the rear extremity of the portion 28whereby the bar 26 and the stem Ztl move axially of the bore 13 inunison. The bar 26 interconnects all of the members Ztl so that theyoperate together.

The bar 26 is biased in the closing direction of the stems Ztl by meansof the return mechanisms generally designated 35. Each mechanism 35includes a pin 36 connected to the back side of the column or tube S andprojecting through an opening 37 in the bar 26 and mounting between therear side 3l of the bar and a rearwardly spaced abutment 'u1 the form ofa washer 38, a compression spring 39 which is under compression betweenthe side 31 of the bar and the abutment washer 38, the washer beingretained on the pin 36 by a key or cotter 4t? which extends through an.appropriate opening in the distal or rear end of the pin 36. Thus itwill be seen that the member 26 is constantly being urged .toward thecolumn 8 and thus the members 2i) are biased to closing position.

It will be noted from a consideration of FIGURE l that there are threesuch spring assemblies 35 disposed adjacent to the top and bottom andintermediate the ends of the bar 26. The bar 26 is provided on its backside 31 adjacent to its upper and lower ends 41 and 42 with a pair ofconnecting brackets or ears or hinge members 43 which provide pivotalconnections via pins 44 to the actuating arms 4S which are connected tothe rockshaft 47 which is vertically disposed and generally parallel tothe column 8. The member 47 is journalled at its upper and lower ends bymeans of bearings 49 and Sil from the upper and lower housing portions8a, 9 and its lower end is provided with an outstanding arm or stop inthe form of a lug structure 52 xed thereto, the lug structure beingengaged by one end 53 of an adjusting member 54 which comprises a screwmember threaded through an upstanding ear or lug 55 on the cam arm 56,the member 54 being suitably locked in position by means of the lockingnut 57. The arm 56 is pivoted intermediate its ends as at 69 about therockshaft 47 and is biased by a tension spring assembly 62 which isconnected as at 63 to the arm 56 intermediate its ends and at its otherend as at 64 to an anchor 65 mounted on the bottom support 9, the spring62 functioning to rotate the arm 56 in a direction engaging the camroller 67 with the annular or circular periphery or cam profile 68 onthe lower end 69 of the drum structure 3 or picker bar pedestal whichrotates about a vertical axis and is journalled from the top and bottomportions of the picker housing as well known. The lower plate or base ofthe picker bar pedestal structure 69 is provided with a cam lobe 72which projects radially outwardly from the periphery 68, said lobehaving a profile which displaces the arm 56 in a direction rotating thecam arm in a counterclockwise direction (FIGURE 2) which in turn rotatesthe rockshaft 47 in a counterclockwise direction causing the barassembly 26 to move rearwardly, that is to the right, as seen in FIGURE2, and thus moving the valve members to the right as seen in FIGURE 3,and withdrawing the members 20 a distance which is pre-set by thesetting of the control member 54. Thus if more fluid is required, theadjusting member 54 is set so that maximum movement of the bar 26 isobtained and the leading end 77 of each stem Ztl entirely clears theport 14 so that a maximum amount of fluid will descend into the tubebore 13, it being understood that all of the column 8 is lled withliquid at all times. If a lesser amount of fluid is required, theadjusting screw is so turned that a lesser stroke of the cam arm 56 isobtained with consequent lesser uncovering of the ports 14. Thus thevolume of water is controlled not only by the aperture size but also bythe time lag between opening and closing of the valve stems. It willalso be noted that on each stroke the member 20 of each valve unitserves as a pump or a piston for forcibly moving the fluid into theassociated pad.

While only one form of the invention has been shown, it should berecognized that other forms and variations will be readily apparent tothose skilled in the art, and it will also be understood that theforegoing embodiment has been chosen merely for illustration and not tolimit or narrow the invention and that the scope thereof is to bedetermined by the nature of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A moistener assembly for a cotton harvester comprising: an uprighttubular member having a liquidcontaining central opening, a plurality ofvertically spaced elements extending through the member and having abore and an inlet port communicating with the bore in the element andsaid opening in the member, each element having moistening means thereondisposed in receiving relation to uid discharged from the associatedbore, a piston in each bore, and operating means opera- 4l tivelyassociated with each piston for opening and closing said port.

2. The invention according to claim l and said operating meanscomprising an equalizer bar interconnecting all of said pistons, andmeans including spring means reactively connected between said memberand bar for `biasing said bar to the closed position of the pistons.

3. A moistener assembly for a cotton harvester comprising: an uprighthollow column having a wall structure with a plurality of verticallyspaced transversely aligned pairs of openings, a tubular moistenersupporting member extending through each pair of openings and having acentral bore and a port intermediate its ends communicating with theinterior of the column and the bore, and piston means extending into thebore from one end of the member and reciprocal therein to covering anduncovering positions with respect to said port and movable past the portin ejecting liquid from the bore into an associated moistener.

4. A moistener assembly for a cotton harvester comprising a drivenupright drum including a plurality of bars with spindles thereonarranged in horizontal vertically spaced rows and having a member with acam profile rotatable therewith, an upright column with a plurality ofiiuid conducting tubes one for each row of spindles, a moistener on oneend of each tube proximate the spindles for wiping cooperationtherewith, each tube having a -bore communicating at one end with theassociated moistener and open at the other end and having a Huid-supplyport intermediate its ends communicating with the bore, a piston in eachbore extending through the open end thereof, and an operating linkageoperatively associated with the pistons and said cam profile forreciprocating said pistons into closing and opening positions withrespect to the respective fluid inlet ports.

5. The invention according to claim 4 and said linkage comprising a camarm spring biased against the cam profile and a rocker assemblyoperatively connected thereto and to Said pistons for translatingmovement of the arm to the pistons attendant to rotation of the drum.

6. The invention according to claim 5 and said rocker assemblycomprising a rockshaft having arm means, an equalizer memberinterconnecting all of the pistons with the arm means, and an adjustableconnection between the arms and the rockshaft for controlling the strokelength of the pistons.

7. A moistener for a cotton picker comprising a hollow column, aplurality of pipes mounted thereon and each having a port communicatingwith the interior of the column, a moistener pad assembly mounted on oneend of the tube, and a combination Valve and injector mechanismextending into the pipe from its other end.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,117,424 Huey May 17, 1938 2,651,160 Lucius Sept. 8, 1953 2,660,850Rust Dec. 1, 1953 2,821,434 Hunter et al. Jan 28, 1958 2,876,611 HubbardMar. 10, 1959

